The enigma of wwii codebreaker alan turing youtube. If you read the book you will realise that the film distorts aspects of turing s live and work quite considerably. Often remembered for his contributions to the fields of artificial intelligence and modern computer science before either even existed, turing is probably best known for what is now dubbed the turing test. The book also tells how this work was directly related to turings leading role in breaking the german enigma ciphers during world war ii, a. As turings biographer andrew hodges, on whose book this film is. The middle sections of the book, explaining first alan s pioneering work as a young mathemetician, then his contribution to cracking the enigma system, and then his diversion into the design and operation of early computers, were a really interesting read.
This smallish book 128 pages is well written and very informative. The man who built the worlds first programmable digital computer, alan turing is now celebrated for his codecracking work that proved vital to the allies in world war two. It may act as an apology to many of the other gay men, not as wellknown as alan turing, who were subjected to these laws. The book that inspired the film the imitation game updated edition paperback by andrew hodges, andrew hodges on. Two decades ago, a mathematician named andrew hodges published alan turing. Thanks to the movie the imitation game, alan turing has emerged from historys shadows, where his memory had languished for decades. If one has seen the movie and liked it, one is going to love this too. Alan turing an english mathematician, logician, and cryptanalystwas a computer pioneer. Nov 14, 2014 alan turing was the mathematician whose ciphercracking transformed the second world war. Before the war he had formulated the concept of the universal machine, and in 1945 he turned this into the.
Hodgess rich and engrossing portrait is not the first book about turing. What connects india to alan turing, the genius who helped solve hitlers unsolvable enigma. Alan turing was the extraordinary cambridge mathematician who masterminded the cracking of the german enigma ciphers and transformed the second world war. While studying at cambridge he began work in predicate logic that led to a proof 1937 that some mathematical problems are not susceptible to solution by automated computation. Like alan turing, zuse was educated in a system that focused on a childs emotional and philosophical life as well as his intellectual life, and at the end of school, like turing, zuse found himself to be something of an outsiderto the disappointment of his very conventional parents, he no longer believed in god or religion. The enigma by andrew hodges and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read turing. A missing message from alan turing surfaces as part of the celebrations for his 100th birthday. Hodges tells how turing s revolutionary idea of 1936 the concept of a universal machine laid the foundation for the modern computer. The enigma, is the indispensable guide to turings life and work and one of the finest biographies of a scientific genius ever written. The enigma by alan hodges this powerful and evocative historical drama explores the life of the man who broke too many codes. I have little new to add and must join all of the others here in saying that andrew hodges alan turing. Site maintained by publisher princeton university press. The real story of how enigma was broken dermot turing the history press 2018.
The book that inspired the film the imitation game by andrew hodges. The enigma, is the indispensable guide to turings life and work and one of the finest biographies of a scientific. This lecture was recorded on december 7, 2014one of the last in a series of over 350 distinguished science lectures presented by the skeptics society since 1992. Hodges biography is thoroughly researched into all aspects of turing s li. Alan mathisonturning and the enigma machine a talk for the astronomical society of harringey by michael morris franks 2. Nov 30, 2012 the official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley alan turing was the mathematician whose ciphercracking transformed the second world war. Hodges examined available primary sources and interviewed surviving witnesses to elucidate turing s multiple dimensions. Includes a new foreword by the author and a preface by douglas hofstadter. He was already working parttime for the british governments code and cypher school before the second world war broke out. Thanks to indepth biographies like andrew hodges alan turing. Alan turing died in 1954, but the themes of his life epitomize the turn of the millennium. Unseen alan turing notebook expected to fetch at least.
A copy of this handbook was at last released from secrecy by the american national security agency in april 1996, under the title turing s. Pages from alan turing s report on the enigma, 1940 the profs book, or turing s treatise on the enigma see the alan turing home page for a guide to this website. The american 2014 film the imitation game is loosely based on the book, with dramatization. I wont lie to you, i knew very little about alan turing or the whole bletchley park thing before reading this book. The american 2014 film the imitation game is loosely based on the book, with. This is both a biography of alan turing and an alternative history of ww2 and it handles both brilliantly.
What connects india to alan turing, the genius who helped. It also has an excellent index at the end and a further reading section. A brief panic over running out of things to read led me to poll my twitter followers for suggestions, andrew hodges biography of alan turing, alan turing. Hinsley and alan stripp, the 39 steps by john buchan and from russia. I think the aspect of the book that i most grasped and that was the most thoughtprovoking was turing s ideas about machine intelligence. The author has obviously spent a lot of time researching many facets of alan turing s life and work. I would recommend it to those journalists who think of alan turing as only a two dimensional figure.
What the imitation game didnt tell you about turings. He is considered one of the fathers of artificial intelligence, and his theories on this matter range from purely mechanical to almost spiritual. Biography audiobooks andrew hodges alan turing the enigma part 02. Alan turing s crucial unscrambling of german messages in. Whilst the title describes turing as an enigma, the author has put together and very sensitive and credible view of alan turing, the person, portraying him as a man deeply conflicted due to his pivotal position in the secret war effort at a time when male homosexuality was illegal. The enigma 1983 is a biography of the british mathematician. In 1940 his machines were breaking the enigma enciphered messages of nazi germanys air force. A pure mathematician from a tradition that prided itself on its. Dec 27, 2015 a team of scientists, mathematicians and cryptographers are credited with cracking the enigma code.
Along with a lucid exposition of turing s achievements, hodges reveals an amusing. Alan turing was driven to a terrible despair and early death by the nation hed done so much to save. If you read the book you will find the film the imitation game utterly unconvincing, as it totally ignores the huge intellectual activity going on at bletchley park. Andrew hodges biography of the british mathematician, alan turing 19121954 is listed as one of the essential 50 books. Learn how this eccentric oddity changed the world and did it almost entirely in secret. Alan turings influence will appear again in other articles on this site, beginning with this piece.
That amt bathed naked, i know from a photograph of him taken on the rocky coast of sark. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of algorithm and computation with the turing machine, which can be. Jun 23, 20 alan turing broke the german enigma code during world war ii and devised the turing machine and the turing test of computer intelligence. The conflicted life of an ordinary english homosexual atheist mathematician. A new york times bestseller the official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley it is only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan. But his vision went far beyond this crucial achievement. Jun 30, 2015 a new york times bestseller the official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley it is only a slight exaggeration to say that the british mathematician alan turing 19121954 saved the allies from the nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decadesall before his. The imitation game is a 2014 american historical drama film directed by morten tyldum and written by graham moore, based on the biography alan turing. You will see it on this page of my alan turing internet scrapbook page 67. List of books and articles about alan turing online. A gripping story of mathematics, science, computing, war history, cryptography, and homosexual persecution and liberation. If i had to describe this book in one word, it would be.
Oct 26, 2014 anthony mason visits with actor benedict cumberbatch to talk about his role as mathematician alan turing in the imitation game, a new film recounting turing s heroic and tragic life story. The enigma of alan turing central intelligence agency. It is a bit ironic that a book whose title implies that alan turing himself is the biggest enigma manages to leave him still an enigma in many ways, but that is the case. The book that inspired the film the imitation game updated edition as of april 2020. The enigma, both british and american, appeared in 2014 the new british edition is from vintage, random house, london, and the new american edition is from princeton university press these new editions are virtually identical with a new 2014 preface, and a foreword by douglas hofstadter. Moore finally got the chance to pen a turing script when he was hired by the producers, who owned the rights to andrew hodgess acclaimed 1983 biography, alan turing. Nov 09, 2014 i dont think i thought turing was an enigma after reading this book. It stars benedict cumberbatch as british cryptanalyst alan turing, who decrypted german intelligence messages for the british government during the second world war. The three young polish mathematicians who were the first to crack the new german military enigma code got their faces on. Alan turing and the invention of the computer david leavitt w. The book could be simpler and could meet the need of a great biography. Reading german was, in 1932, an essential part of serious mathematical work. Desert hawk the true story of stocky edwards, world war ii flying ace ebook.
Alan turing was the mathematician whose ciphercracking transformed the second world war. He proved that a universal turing machine, with a collection of symbols and one infinite tape, could simulate all the computers man can ever create. The enigma by andrew hodges, the code book by simon singh, codebreakers by f. The official book behind the academy awardwinning film the imitation game, starring benedict cumberbatch and keira knightley. The book that inspired the film the imitation game updated edition kindle edition by hodges, andrew, hofstadter, douglas, hodges, andrew. The tragic life of alan turing ebook written by fergus mason. His breaking of the german uboat enigma cipher in world war ii ensured alliedamerican control of the atlantic. The enigma by andrew hodges is an enigma in its own right. The book that inspired the film the imitation game updated edition hodges, andrew, hodges, andrew, hofstadter, douglas on. Taken on by british intelligence in 1938, as a shy young cambridge don, he combined brilliant logic with a flair for engineering. Heres all the research weve gathered on alan turing. I read it when it first came out in 1983, and immediately formed the ambition to write something similar about ludwig wittgenstein. The enigma, is the indispensable guide to turing s life and work and one of the finest biographies of a scientific genius ever written.
A rare notebook of alan turings which dates back to his work breaking the enigma code is expected to sell at auction for at least. Andrew hodges, and henrik olesen, the artist behind some illustrations to the life of alan turing, both depict the young alan turing as a child inquisitive, and bright beyond his. Turing is most famous for his cryptanalysis work at bletchley park during the second world war. I think the aspect of the book that i most grasped and that was the most thoughtprovoking was turing.
Sep 16, 2014 alan s experiences were what they were because of who he was, and, in turn, these experiences made him into the man, the enigma he became. His musings on biology and religion suggest a very profound mind. But a book i wish i had written, and one that was a big inspiration for the things i have written, is alan turing. Turing s rehabilitation from over a quartercenturys embarrassed silence was largely the result of andrew hodgess superb biography, alan turing. Anthony mason visits with actor benedict cumberbatch to talk about his role as mathematician alan turing in the imitation game, a new film recounting turing. How alan turing cracked the enigma code imperial war museums. The book not informs you on alan, but puts him in context in history both in the uk, usa and the world. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The enigma andrew hodges is tutor in mathematics at wadham. Turing brought the idea to practical realization in 1945 with his electronic design. Apr 29, 2012 a missing message from alan turing surfaces as part of the celebrations for his 100th birthday. Nope, i am not one of those amusingly titled ladies who call themselves cumberbitches it was just that this book was on offer a few years ago and i willynillily clicked buy it now. During world war ii, his decryption of the nazis enigma codes proved vital for the allied victory over the axis powers.
During wwii he worked to break the german enigma codes while suffering under considerable social pressure for being gay. He chronicled how french, british, and polish spies and. In late 1940 alan turing wrote a report describing the methods he and his colleagues at bletchley park had used to break into the german enigma cipher systems. Alan turing 19121954, of cryptanalysis and computer fame. Read alan turing and enigma machine by alan moon available from rakuten kobo. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading alan turing. Birthplace alan turing was born in a nursing home in paddington, london on 23 june 1912. Its a contentious question, says andrew hodges, author of the acclaimed biography alan turing. This remains a shame on the british government and british history. Alan turing 191254 was a british mathematician who made history. Read the amazing life of this english mathematician and logician, alan turing, who helps crack the enigma code during wo. Book description vintage publishing, united kingdom, 1992. The book that inspired the film the imitation game updated edition by andrew hodges.
You will see it on this page of my alan turing internet scrapbook. The enigma, which is one of the finest scientific biographies ever written, and has remained an essential resource for all subsequent accounts of turings life. Both turing s cracking of the enigma code and his prosecution of gross indecency are mis portrayed in the film. The classic biography of the founder of computer science.
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